Julian Rachlin plays Dimitri Papadimitriou
Dimitris Papadimitriou is a composer who has been proven to move beyond and above stereotypes and all kinds of aesthetic categorizations. Multifaceted and restless, sensitive and visionary, he feels equally at home in the field of art lyrical singing, in film music and in spoken symphonic music; and it is precisely this breadth and his ability to creatively assimilate elements from different styles in his works that makes his music so interesting, original and above all sincere, with a captivating immediacy. Our very own esteemed conductor Georgios Balatsinos and Lithuanian violinist Julian Rachlin, musicians of international renown and deeply familiar with the music of today, promise dynamic readings of his works.
Journey to the centre of Music - March
A series of interactive concerts which seeks to shed light on everything that connects contemporary audiences with symphonic music, making its timeless repertoire more approachable to everyone, whether they are newcomers to the form or music lovers who are already fans. Video, Talks and Music are combined to provide a dramatized portrait of a different symphonic genre each time. Historical facts both well-known and unfamiliar, personal stories, hidden symbolism and motifs, and the structural magic of the works are presented in an entertaining way.
Journey to the centre of Music - March
A series of interactive concerts which seeks to shed light on everything that connects contemporary audiences with symphonic music, making its timeless repertoire more approachable to everyone, whether they are newcomers to the form or music lovers who are already fans. Video, Talks and Music are combined to provide a dramatized portrait of a different symphonic genre each time. Historical facts both well-known and unfamiliar, personal stories, hidden symbolism and motifs, and the structural magic of the works are presented in an entertaining way.
Vadim Repin back with the Athens State Orchestra
2025 marks half a century since the death of Dmitri Shostakovitch, the greatest symphonist of the 20th century and a composer who imbued the modernism of his era with pure emotion and classical purity. These—and other—aspects of his music will be foregrounded to perfection by Vadim Repin, whom the great Yehudi Menuhin once declared "the most perfect violinist I have ever heard"! For his part, Michał Nesterowicz, the Polish conductor much loved by Athenian audiences, will be focusing his customary care and attention on achieving an aesthetically flawless performance of Rachmaninoff's boldly exuberant Second Symphony—a work which delivers a resounding riposte to those who believe that the Russian composer begins and ends with his piano concertos.
Gala concert with Jonas Kaufmann
Gavrylyuk performs the Grieg Piano Concerto
Born in Ukraine, Alexander Gavrylyuk is an Australian pianist with an eclectic repertoire who knows how to get to the heart of a piece and perform it with fresh insights and--above all--an uncompromising daring. For those of you who have not yet heard him in action, prepare to hear Grieg's celebrated Concerto with its revelatory power revealed anew! The rapidly up-and-coming conductor and composer Ektoras Tartanis, who is participating in this concert as both maestro and composer, is gifted with comparable talents which have earned him universal acclaim in both roles. The work is performed by Dimitris Tiliakos, the Greek baritone with an international career, and the ASO's principal harpist, Gogo Xagara.
Journey to the centre of Music - Intermezzo
A series of interactive concerts which seeks to shed light on everything that connects contemporary audiences with symphonic music, making its timeless repertoire more approachable to everyone, whether they are newcomers to the form or music lovers who are already fans. Video, Talks and Music are combined to provide a dramatized portrait of a different symphonic genre each time. Historical facts both well-known and unfamiliar, personal stories, hidden symbolism and motifs, and the structural magic of the works are presented in an entertaining way.
Journey to the centre of Music - Intermezzo
A series of interactive concerts which seeks to shed light on everything that connects contemporary audiences with symphonic music, making its timeless repertoire more approachable to everyone, whether they are newcomers to the form or music lovers who are already fans. Video, Talks and Music are combined to provide a dramatized portrait of a different symphonic genre each time. Historical facts both well-known and unfamiliar, personal stories, hidden symbolism and motifs, and the structural magic of the works are presented in an entertaining way.
Cyprien Katsaris 100 years of Mikis Theodorakis
This year marks the centenary of the birth of the great Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis, an artist who was marked by the turbulent times in which he lived, but left in turn his own mark on the era, expressing his vision for a better world through his compositions in both serious and popular genres, and through his political action. The great virtuoso Cyprien Katsaris, who was a close collaborator of Theodorakis, performs the composer's exhilarating First Suite, along with Liszt's electrifying Hungarian Fantasy. The distinguished maestro Zoi Tsokanou will also be conducting an elegant work by Lili Boulanger, the French composer who died very young, and the magnificent symphonic centrepiece of French impressionism, Claude Debussy's The Sea.
"...after Shostakovitch..." 90 years from the birth of Schnittke - 50 years since the death of Shostakovitch
All the works in tonight’s programme were written in the Soviet Union between 1973 and 1983, a decade that served as a prelude to what could well be the most significant political sea change in modern history: perestroika. In this turbulent and uncertain period, a new generation of artists who had absorbed a diverse range of modernist trends along with the teachings of the past found their voice. The most outstanding among them was Alfred Schnittke, the most performed and recorded composer of the latter half of the 20th century. Two of his masterpieces are included in tonight’s programme, along with a stirring set of songs by Shostakovitch, On the podium, the ever-imaginative Nikos Vasileiou is joined by two distinguished artists: Ilias Sdoukos and Maria Katsoura.